The present invention pertains generally to latches and, more particularly to rotary latches which are operated by rotation of a handle.
Rotary latches are used on any sort of door which needs to be held in a closed position. The benefit of most rotary latches is that the door to which they are mounted will spring open upon latch release and may be slammed back to a closed, latched position. A latch is released upon its actuation, which is commonly done via a handle. The handle and latch comprise a system and are typically mounted together upon a pan which is in turn attached to the door being latched. The most common handle used to actuate a rotary latch when both are mounted to a common pan is a paddle handle, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,487.
The T-handle is used in some latch systems because of its strength, durability, and compact design. The T-handle has been used in latch systems which do not include a rotary latch, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,660. Because a great deal of force can be translated through the T-handle, it is often used in a system where rotary latches or other devices being actuated are not mounted to the pan upon which the handle is mounted, but are located at a distance from this pan. The force of turning the handle is translated via rod or cable to the latch or device. Often multiple rods or cables are attached to a single T-handle, allowing coinciding actuation of multiple devices.(see FIG. 31 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,478) One problem with prior art latch systems is that they do not utilize a T-handle to actuate a rotary latch mounted upon a common pan. A further problem with prior art systems is that a T-handle is not used to actuate a rotary latch mounted to a common pan as well as devices not attached to the pan.
It is desirable to have a new rotary latch system which utilizes the durability and compact design of a T-handle in conjunction with a rotary latch where both latch and handle are mounted to the same pan. Further, it is desirable to utilize the strength of the T-handle by including a way to actuate latches or devices not mounted to the pan as well as the local latch.
The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages in the prior art. The invention provides in one aspect a latch which functions as a releasable closure mechanism comprising a pan having a well with exterior and interior sides, a latch assembly attached to the pan generally along side the well, the latch assembly having a latch jaw and a trip pawl, an actuating lever rotationally mounted proximate to the pan and disposed in a plane generally parallel to the pan, the actuating lever configured to actuate the latch assembly to a release state, a shaft having first and second ends extending generally perpendicularly through the well and the mounting plate, a handle attached to the first end of the shaft on the exterior side of the well, and a rotating member attached to the second end of the shaft on an interior side of the well, with the actuating lever located between the rotating member and the interior side of the well, the rotating member positioned to contact the actuating lever upon rotation of the rotating member, so that the actuating lever trips the latch assembly.
The invention provides in another aspect a latch which functions as a releasable closure mechanism, the latch comprising a mounting plate having interior and exterior sides, a latch assembly attached to the said mounting plate, the latch assembly having a latch jaw and trip pawl, a shaft having first and second ends extending generally perpendicularly through the mounting plate, a handle attached to said first end of the shaft on the exterior side of the plate, a rotating member attached to said second side of the shaft, an actuating lever attached to said mounting plate and being in physical contact with said rotating member and said trip pawl, and said actuating lever configured to actuate the latch assembly upon rotation of said rotating member.
These and other aspects of the invention are herein described in particularized detail with reference to the accompanying Figures.